Members of County Assembly of Kiambu have accused Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa of destabilizing the devolved unit for his selfish interests.
They claim the Senator was being used by a section of MPs to fight the governor but used hid under his oversight role to pursue his machinations.
Led by the County Assembly Leader of Majority Godfrey Mucheke, Chief Whip Nelson Munga, Grace Hinga (Kabete), Ruth Waithira (Githiga), Kennedy Odhiambo (Kahawa Sukari) and Peter Mburu (Kamenu) they described Thangwa as an inconsiderate absentee senator who addresses Kiambu issues on social media, disparages MCAs and barely knows what was going on in the county.
Their counter remarks followed Thangwa’s reference to MCAs as minions during a live tik-tok video when analyzing the Controller of Budget report claiming the Ward reps do not understand their oversight role.
Thangwa claimed the county did poorly in its Own Source Revenue collection between July and December 2023.
Mucheke said that, from his way of doing things, the Senator seemed not to have undergone any induction by the Senate, saying his conduct only subjected Kiambu County to ignominy that was previously unthinkable.
“Governor Wamatangi seems to have set a very high bar when he was our senator because of how he conducted himself and his achievements, and Thangwa has been unable to fit in.
That is why he is engaging in theatrics that only put the county in public shame. Instead of taking serious motions and bills to the Senate or fighting for increased county resources, he is always in a tick-tock recording videos like youngsters,” Mucheke said.
He added: It’s high time he respected MCAs and the county leadership. And stop raising issues on tick-tock. If you have evidence of misappropriation, take it to the relevant bodies, not tick-tock, where you compete for space with teenagers.”
“He should let the county be. He must also respect MCAs. He called us minions to suggest that we do not have brains. That is disrespecting us. And he should be told that while fighting the Governor, he is doing it alone for himself and his masters,” The Githiga MCA said.
The senator is part of a group of politicians, among them Woman Rep Anne Wamuratha, Alice Ng’an’g’a (Thika), Mburu Kahangara (Lari), Njuguna Ka Wanjiku (Kiambaa), Githua Wamachuku (Kabete), Gabriel Kabombe (Gatundu South), and John Kiragu (Limuru), who coalesce around Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa who have also been accused of disrespecting MCAs and sponsoring wars against the Governor.
But the senator has defended himself, saying he was only playing his elective mandate of overseeing the county government and would not stop.
“I sit at the Senate where I send money to Kiambu. Therefore, when I ask questions about how it’s being spent, it should not be misconstrued that I am fighting the governor,” he said.
Munga, who is the Ndeiya MCA, said that a section of MPs unhappy with the governor’s move to deny them opportunities to grab public land and steal from the county coffers have since last continuously hatched unsuccessful plots to have Wamatangi removed from office.
“Those fighting the Governor had planned that the Governor would not be in office by February 28, 2024. But after they failed. They have returned to hatch another plot to remove the Governor by June this year. But they will fail.